Ryan Banta is a Hydrologic Studies Chief for the Colorado Water Science Center, leading a team of multidisciplinary scientists studying water related topics.
Dr. Banta’s interests are based in the earth sciences. He received a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis majoring in Soil and Water Science with an Environmental Toxicology minor. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Hydrology from the University of Nevada, Reno. His graduate and postdoctoral research focused on interdisciplinary approaches to investigate high resolution trace element ice core records from Greenland and Antarctica. Ryan currently works with the U.S. Geological Survey as a Hydrologic Studies Chief at the Colorado Water Science Center where he leads a dynamic team to meet the science goals of local, state, and federal partners on topics related to water quality, water quantity, and hydrologic processes.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno, Hydrology
M.S., University of Nevada, Reno, Hydrology
B.S., University of California, Davis, Soil and Water Science
minor, Environmental Toxicology
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 16
A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized hydrologic and e
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, Charles N. Alpers, Chauncey W. Anderson, John R. Banta, Johanna Blake, Kurt D. Carpenter, Gregory D. Clark, David W. Clow, Laura A. Hempel, Deborah A. Martin, Michael Meador, Gregory Mendez, Anke Mueller-Solger, Marc A. Stewart, Sean E. Payne, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Brian A. Ebel
Effects of huisache removal on rangeland evapotranspiration in Victoria County, south-central Texas, 2015–18
The U.S. Geological Survey and Desert Research Institute, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District, Victoria Soil and Water Conservation District, and the San Antonio River Authority, evaluated the hydrologic effects of Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana (huisache) removal on r
Authors
Richard N. Slattery, Darwin J. Ockerman, Matthew Bromley, Justin Huntington, John R. Banta
New insights into surface-water/groundwater exchanges in the Guadalupe River, Texas, from floating geophysical methods
In south-central Texas, the amount of streamflow in the Guadalupe River is a primary concern for local and downstream communities because of municipal, agricultural, wildlife, and recreational uses. Understanding the flow paths and rates of exchange between the surface water in the river and the groundwater in the underlying Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer is vital for understanding the water budget and st
Authors
Scott J. Ikard, J. Ryan Banta, Gregory P. Stanton
New insights on scale-dependent surface-groundwater exchange from a floating self-potential Dipole
In south-central Texas the lower Guadalupe River has incised into the outcrop of the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. The river and the aquifer are hydraulically connected across the outcrop, although the connectivity is obscured at the surface by alluvium and surface-water and groundwater exchange dynamics are currently poorly understood. To investigate surface-water and groundwater exchange dynamics betw
Authors
Scott Ikard, Andrew P. Teeple, Jason Payne, Gregory P. Stanton, J. Ryan Banta
The importance of parameterization when simulating the hydrologic response of vegetative land-cover change
Computer models of hydrologic systems are frequently used to investigate the hydrologic response of land-cover change. If the modeling results are used to inform resource-management decisions, then providing robust estimates of uncertainty in the simulated response is an important consideration. Here we examine the importance of parameterization, a necessarily subjective process, on uncertainty es
Authors
Jeremy T. White, Victoria G. Stengel, Samuel H. Rendon, John Banta
Source, variability, and transformation of nitrate in a regional karst aquifer: Edwards aquifer, central Texas.
Many karst regions are undergoing rapid population growth and expansion of urban land accompanied by increases in wastewater generation and changing patterns of nitrate (NO3−) loading to surface and groundwater. We investigate variability and sources of NO3− in a regional karst aquifer system, the Edwards aquifer of central Texas. Samples from streams recharging the aquifer, groundwater wells, and
Authors
MaryLynn Musgrove, Stephen P. Opsahl, Barbara Mahler, Chris Herrington, Thomas Sample, John Banta
Sediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13
Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texa
Authors
Darwin J. Ockerman, J. Ryan Banta, Cassi L. Crow, Stephen P. Opsahl
Characterizing and simulating sediment loads and transport in the lower part of the San Antonio River Basin
This extended abstract is based on the U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Reports by Crow et al. (2013) and Banta and Ockerman (2014). Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. The quantity and type of suspended sediment can affect the biological
Authors
J. Ryan Banta, Darwin J. Ockerman, Cassi Crow, Stephen P. Opsahl
Simulation of hydrologic conditions and suspended-sediment loads in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-12
Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand suspended-sediment loads and transport in a watershed, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, developed a Hydrological Simulation Program—FORTRAN mod
Authors
J. Ryan Banta, Darwin J. Ockerman
Sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, and at a site on the Guadalupe River downstream from the San Antonio River Basin, 1966-2013
San Antonio and surrounding municipalities in Bexar County, Texas, are in a rapidly urbanizing region in the San Antonio River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority and the Texas Water Development Board, compiled historical sediment data collected between 1996 and 2004 and collected suspended-sediment and bedload samples over a range of hydrologic c
Authors
Cassi L. Crow, J. Ryan Banta, Stephen P. Opsahl
Surface-water quality in the upper San Antonio River Basin, Bexar County, Texas, 1992-98
The potential effects of chemicals in rivers and streams on human health or the ecology have long been a source of concern to water managers. Chemicals in rivers may result from natural or anthropogenic sources (such as industrial or residential practices) which are commonly associated with urbanized watersheds. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, examined
Authors
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery, Cassi L. Crow
Groundwater levels and water-quality observations pertaining to the Austin Group, Bexar County, Texas, 2009-11
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, examined groundwater-level altitudes (groundwater levels) and water-quality data pertaining to the Austin Group in Bexar County, Texas, during 2009–11. Hydrologic data collected included daily mean groundwater levels collected at seven sites in the study area. Water-quality samples were collected at six sites in the stud
Authors
J.R. Banta, Allan K. Clark
Non-USGS Publications**
McGwire, K.C., K.C. Taylor, J.R. Banta, J.R. McConnell (2011), Identifying annual peaks in dielectric profiles with a selection curve, Journal of Glaciology, 57(204), 763-769, doi:10.3189/002214311797409721
Banta, J.R., J.R. McConnell, M. Frey, R. Bales, and K. Taylor (2008), Spatial and temporal variability in snow accumulation at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide over recent centuries, Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, D23102, doi:10.1029/2008jd010235.
Banta, J.R., J.R. McConnell, R. Edwards, and J.P. Engelbrecht (2008), Delineation of carbonate dust, aluminous dust, and sea salt deposition in a Greenland glaciochemical array using positive matrix factorization, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 9, Q07013, doi:10.1029/2007gc001908.
McGwire, K.C., J.R. McConnell, R.B. Alley, J.R. Banta, G.M. Hargreaves, and K.C. Taylor (2008), Dating annual layers of a shallow Antarctic ice core with an optical scanner, Journal of Glaciology, 54(188), 831-838, doi:10.3189/002214308787780021
Banta, J.R., and J.R. McConnell (2007), Annual accumulation over recent centuries at four sites in central Greenland, Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, D10114, doi:10.1029/2006jd007887.
McConnell, J.R., R. Edwards, G.L. Kok, M.G. Flanner, C.S. Zender, E.S. Saltzman, J.R. Banta, D.R. Pasteris, M.M. Carter, and J.D.W. Kahl (2007), 20th century industrial black carbon emissions altered Arctic climate forcing. Science, August 9, 2007, doi:10.1126/science.1144856.
McConnell, J.R., A.J. Aristarian, J.R. Banta, P.R. Edwards, and J.C. Simões (2007), 20th Century Doubling in Atmospheric Dust over the Antarctic Peninsula Parallels Climate Change and Desertification in South America, Proceedings of National Academy of Science, 104(14):5743-5748, doi:10.1073/pnas.0607657104.
Banta, J.R. (2006), Interpretation of glaciochemical records from an array of Greenland ice cores, Ph.D. Dissertation, Hydrologic Sciences Program, University of Nevada, Reno.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Evapotranspiration Science in Oklahoma and Texas
Evapotranspiration is the evaporation of water from plant leaves and the ground surface and is an important component of a water budget. The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) monitors evapotranspiration rates to evaluate how changes in land cover and soil moisture content may change water budgets. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.
Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program-Geospatial and Tabular Datasets Used in the Compilation of Physiography, Geology, Hydrogeology, and Water Quality Data for the Fort Bliss, Dona Ana Range, McGregor Range, and White Sands Missile Range Area, Texas a
The Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act was established to systematically assess priority aquifers along the U.S.-Mexico international boundary. The priority aquifers that were specified include the Hueco-Mesilla Bolsons aquifer in Texas and New Mexico and its counterpart in Mexico, the Conejos-Médanos Aquifer system, and the Santa Cruz and San Pedro aquifers in Arizona (Texas Water Development B
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 16
A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized hydrologic and eAuthorsSheila F. Murphy, Charles N. Alpers, Chauncey W. Anderson, John R. Banta, Johanna Blake, Kurt D. Carpenter, Gregory D. Clark, David W. Clow, Laura A. Hempel, Deborah A. Martin, Michael Meador, Gregory Mendez, Anke Mueller-Solger, Marc A. Stewart, Sean E. Payne, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Brian A. EbelEffects of huisache removal on rangeland evapotranspiration in Victoria County, south-central Texas, 2015–18
The U.S. Geological Survey and Desert Research Institute, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District, Victoria Soil and Water Conservation District, and the San Antonio River Authority, evaluated the hydrologic effects of Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana (huisache) removal on rAuthorsRichard N. Slattery, Darwin J. Ockerman, Matthew Bromley, Justin Huntington, John R. BantaNew insights into surface-water/groundwater exchanges in the Guadalupe River, Texas, from floating geophysical methods
In south-central Texas, the amount of streamflow in the Guadalupe River is a primary concern for local and downstream communities because of municipal, agricultural, wildlife, and recreational uses. Understanding the flow paths and rates of exchange between the surface water in the river and the groundwater in the underlying Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer is vital for understanding the water budget and stAuthorsScott J. Ikard, J. Ryan Banta, Gregory P. StantonNew insights on scale-dependent surface-groundwater exchange from a floating self-potential Dipole
In south-central Texas the lower Guadalupe River has incised into the outcrop of the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. The river and the aquifer are hydraulically connected across the outcrop, although the connectivity is obscured at the surface by alluvium and surface-water and groundwater exchange dynamics are currently poorly understood. To investigate surface-water and groundwater exchange dynamics betwAuthorsScott Ikard, Andrew P. Teeple, Jason Payne, Gregory P. Stanton, J. Ryan BantaThe importance of parameterization when simulating the hydrologic response of vegetative land-cover change
Computer models of hydrologic systems are frequently used to investigate the hydrologic response of land-cover change. If the modeling results are used to inform resource-management decisions, then providing robust estimates of uncertainty in the simulated response is an important consideration. Here we examine the importance of parameterization, a necessarily subjective process, on uncertainty esAuthorsJeremy T. White, Victoria G. Stengel, Samuel H. Rendon, John BantaSource, variability, and transformation of nitrate in a regional karst aquifer: Edwards aquifer, central Texas.
Many karst regions are undergoing rapid population growth and expansion of urban land accompanied by increases in wastewater generation and changing patterns of nitrate (NO3−) loading to surface and groundwater. We investigate variability and sources of NO3− in a regional karst aquifer system, the Edwards aquifer of central Texas. Samples from streams recharging the aquifer, groundwater wells, andAuthorsMaryLynn Musgrove, Stephen P. Opsahl, Barbara Mahler, Chris Herrington, Thomas Sample, John BantaSediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13
Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, TexaAuthorsDarwin J. Ockerman, J. Ryan Banta, Cassi L. Crow, Stephen P. OpsahlCharacterizing and simulating sediment loads and transport in the lower part of the San Antonio River Basin
This extended abstract is based on the U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Reports by Crow et al. (2013) and Banta and Ockerman (2014). Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. The quantity and type of suspended sediment can affect the biologicalAuthorsJ. Ryan Banta, Darwin J. Ockerman, Cassi Crow, Stephen P. OpsahlSimulation of hydrologic conditions and suspended-sediment loads in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-12
Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand suspended-sediment loads and transport in a watershed, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, developed a Hydrological Simulation Program—FORTRAN modAuthorsJ. Ryan Banta, Darwin J. OckermanSediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, and at a site on the Guadalupe River downstream from the San Antonio River Basin, 1966-2013
San Antonio and surrounding municipalities in Bexar County, Texas, are in a rapidly urbanizing region in the San Antonio River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority and the Texas Water Development Board, compiled historical sediment data collected between 1996 and 2004 and collected suspended-sediment and bedload samples over a range of hydrologic cAuthorsCassi L. Crow, J. Ryan Banta, Stephen P. OpsahlSurface-water quality in the upper San Antonio River Basin, Bexar County, Texas, 1992-98
The potential effects of chemicals in rivers and streams on human health or the ecology have long been a source of concern to water managers. Chemicals in rivers may result from natural or anthropogenic sources (such as industrial or residential practices) which are commonly associated with urbanized watersheds. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, examinedAuthorsJ. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery, Cassi L. CrowGroundwater levels and water-quality observations pertaining to the Austin Group, Bexar County, Texas, 2009-11
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, examined groundwater-level altitudes (groundwater levels) and water-quality data pertaining to the Austin Group in Bexar County, Texas, during 2009–11. Hydrologic data collected included daily mean groundwater levels collected at seven sites in the study area. Water-quality samples were collected at six sites in the studAuthorsJ.R. Banta, Allan K. ClarkNon-USGS Publications**
McGwire, K.C., K.C. Taylor, J.R. Banta, J.R. McConnell (2011), Identifying annual peaks in dielectric profiles with a selection curve, Journal of Glaciology, 57(204), 763-769, doi:10.3189/002214311797409721Banta, J.R., J.R. McConnell, M. Frey, R. Bales, and K. Taylor (2008), Spatial and temporal variability in snow accumulation at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide over recent centuries, Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, D23102, doi:10.1029/2008jd010235.Banta, J.R., J.R. McConnell, R. Edwards, and J.P. Engelbrecht (2008), Delineation of carbonate dust, aluminous dust, and sea salt deposition in a Greenland glaciochemical array using positive matrix factorization, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 9, Q07013, doi:10.1029/2007gc001908.McGwire, K.C., J.R. McConnell, R.B. Alley, J.R. Banta, G.M. Hargreaves, and K.C. Taylor (2008), Dating annual layers of a shallow Antarctic ice core with an optical scanner, Journal of Glaciology, 54(188), 831-838, doi:10.3189/002214308787780021Banta, J.R., and J.R. McConnell (2007), Annual accumulation over recent centuries at four sites in central Greenland, Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, D10114, doi:10.1029/2006jd007887.McConnell, J.R., R. Edwards, G.L. Kok, M.G. Flanner, C.S. Zender, E.S. Saltzman, J.R. Banta, D.R. Pasteris, M.M. Carter, and J.D.W. Kahl (2007), 20th century industrial black carbon emissions altered Arctic climate forcing. Science, August 9, 2007, doi:10.1126/science.1144856.McConnell, J.R., A.J. Aristarian, J.R. Banta, P.R. Edwards, and J.C. Simões (2007), 20th Century Doubling in Atmospheric Dust over the Antarctic Peninsula Parallels Climate Change and Desertification in South America, Proceedings of National Academy of Science, 104(14):5743-5748, doi:10.1073/pnas.0607657104.Banta, J.R. (2006), Interpretation of glaciochemical records from an array of Greenland ice cores, Ph.D. Dissertation, Hydrologic Sciences Program, University of Nevada, Reno.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
- Science
Evapotranspiration Science in Oklahoma and Texas
Evapotranspiration is the evaporation of water from plant leaves and the ground surface and is an important component of a water budget. The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) monitors evapotranspiration rates to evaluate how changes in land cover and soil moisture content may change water budgets. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science. - Data
Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program-Geospatial and Tabular Datasets Used in the Compilation of Physiography, Geology, Hydrogeology, and Water Quality Data for the Fort Bliss, Dona Ana Range, McGregor Range, and White Sands Missile Range Area, Texas a
The Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act was established to systematically assess priority aquifers along the U.S.-Mexico international boundary. The priority aquifers that were specified include the Hueco-Mesilla Bolsons aquifer in Texas and New Mexico and its counterpart in Mexico, the Conejos-Médanos Aquifer system, and the Santa Cruz and San Pedro aquifers in Arizona (Texas Water Development B